Field of the Invention
This invention relates to adornment as used on articles, such as apparel articles.
Background Art
The apparel industry, which represents one category of “article” to which the invention herein relates, continues to be one of the most competitive consumer industries worldwide. Appearance is generally one of the most critical selling points for virtually all apparel. As a result, those in the industry have invested, and continue to invest, enormous sums in different ways to adorn apparel to make it more visually appealing than the apparel of their competitors.
Toward this end, one focus has been upon discrete adornment that is provided on virtually all types of apparel. This category includes a wide range of adornment types. The adornment may be in the form of a logo, informational lettering, an eye-catching design, representations of persons, places, and things, etc.
Most commonly, this type of ornamentation is applied at a continuous exposed surface of the article. That surface is normally defined by an outer layer that may be a cloth material, leather, etc.
As one example, ornamentation is commonly formed by embroidering a pattern directly upon an outer layer defining the exposed surface of the article. The embroidery process may utilize threads that contrast with the color and/or texture of the exposed outer layer to produce an obvious contrast to highlight the added material.
Embroidery has some inherent drawbacks. First of all, embroidery equipment involves a significant financial investment. Further, the embroidery process typically produces a flat design. Multiple layers may have to be formed to produce a noticeable 3-dimensional projection on the exposed surface, if that look is desired. Additionally, it is difficult to make a sharp and distinct transition between the embroidered thread and the edge thereof at which the underlying surface is exposed. Instead, a somewhat rough edge is commonly produced which is worsened by thicker threads. Still further, it is difficult to form intricate shapes using the embroidery process, particularly when the shapes have a small footprint.
Another problem that arises with embroidery relates to the cutting of substrates to appropriately match an embroidered pattern when the embroidery is applied as part of a process to pre-form a patch for subsequent application. Oftentimes embroidered patterns are applied in varying free form designs. It may be difficult thereafter to set up the cutting equipment to make a desired matching perimeter edge, particularly since embroidered patterns may become random and numerous. Potentially, dies would be required for each variation.
As one example, the substrate is cut first to a particular embroidery pattern to be made. Precise alignment is required to properly match the cut substrate with the embroidery equipment. This can become expensive and lead to rejects and high cost per unit.
Woven ornamentation can be formed using a process that allows rather intricate shapes to be precisely formed with sharp transition edges, even with a design having a small areal extent. The weaving process is one that generally involves high end equipment that, as embroidery, demands a significant up-front equipment investment.
Another widely used method of producing ornamentation is to perform a screen printing operation. Once again, it is difficult to form precise shapes using this process. Further, the overall quality of screen printed ornamentation is generally less than that of the counterparts made by embroidery and weaving processes. Additionally, the integrity of the screen printed material depends upon the tenacity of its adherence to the substrate. On cloth, the degree of adherence is difficult to control. Even in a best case situation, over time, the screen printed material is prone to cracking, being rubbed off, and/or fading, which may detract significantly from the overall appearance of the associated article.
Pre-formation of a patch or label commonly is carried out using a variety of techniques other than embroidery. Heretofore, the pre-formed patches have been made with a multitude of different structural variations. Commonly, layers are stacked to highlight visually contrasting materials, designs, and colors. This stacking process creates a number of different problems.
First of all, the stacking of multiple layers produces a stepped appearance which may not be desirable. Multiple stacked layers may also produce a generally thickened patch configuration which may be undesirable.
Further, when components or layers are stacked on underlying layers with different footprints, it is generally difficult to create a neat appearance at the front of the patch. For example, overlying layers may be held in place by stitching. This exposed stitching may be visually unappealing.
It is also generally difficult to maintain perimeter edges of overlying layers in intimate contact with an immediately underlying surface. This condition may worsen as the materials wrinkle, warp, and/or fray.
Still further, this stacked construction tends to create edges that make the patch prone to snagging on foreign objects when the apparel items are used during normal activities. For apparel items that are washed, this snagging problem becomes aggravated as normal washing techniques cause the patch to be dragged against parts of the apparel item with which it is associated and/or other items being washed.
The above issues have generally limited the ability of manufacturers to make certain eye-catching ornamentation.
The industry continues to seek out improved techniques for creating and applying ornamentation to all types of apparel articles, such as headwear, shirts, pants, blouses, accessories, etc. The driving design objectives are typically to produce a visually appealing, high quality, long lasting ornamentation that can be applied at a reasonable price.